Kosmos

Culture, travel, fashion and culinary delights: the Kosmos pages of Lufthansa Magazin bring you interesting and useful tidbits from around the world

CULTURE CLASH

It’s all just staged: The art of using light and shadow to tell stories can traditionally be found all over the world

Epic Gossip
Dainty puppets made of buffalo leather expertly controlled by thin rods, Indonesia’s wayang kulit shadow puppets are famous
the world over. They usually depict scenes from ancient epics, but indulge in current gossip, too.

Punch and Judy in Turkish
Turkey’s traditional Karagöz theater is sure to make you laugh. The hero is a rough but witty fellow who comes up with all kinds of tricks to get by.

Shining Light
It wasn’t until the 17th century that Europeans discovered the shadow play. Today’s artists, such as Fabrizio Montecchi from Italy, are experimenting with music, space and light.

Use your illusion

The ravages of time? A portal to another dimension? No – just the incredible work of street artist 1010, who is famed for his clever optical illusions on buildings that make flat surfaces look like cavernous holes.

A-tisket, a-tasket …

Until they were banned in the 19th century, monks from the Buddhist Fuke sect wandered the streets of Japan playing gentle melodies on flutes and begging for alms. The sect died out 150 years ago, but their traditions are recreated for special occasions.